After 18 months in the gym, I'm excited to announce I did my first chin-up since 1984. It was with a neutral close grip (palms towards each other about 30cm apart), but a win is a win.
That extra 20 pounds I gained from drinking during pandemic lockdowns (and maintained by my new spouse's cooking) did not help. #ADIML
A bit of a thought dump on what's happening in my family right now:
My spouse has a Master's degree in Social Work and has been grateful to work in the community assisting people transitioning from long-term hospital care to home care. She works with a multidisciplinary team with a non-profit organization that originated the concept with the Ottawa Hospital, which has since saved the hospital system significant costs while providing better care, for the past four years.
On Monday her team found out that the Ottawa Hospital gave the new contract to a local for-profit company that is (likely the one) working for Queensway Carleton, a much smaller hospital, at a lower price. Her team will not receive new patients and will wind down over the next four months before they must find new work.
One has to wonder how a small for-profit undercuts an established non-profit. The likely possibilities are underpaying the staff, and grossly underestimating the amount of work required. My spouse's team has three full time social workers, compared to the private firm's one part-time social worker. The social worker is the first contact, assessing needs of the client (sometimes making mental health assessments) and helping them get further supports from the city, or placements in long term care as needed.
This situation will clearly backfire heavily for Ottawa Hospital. But we have to stand aside and watch the train wreck unfold. Laura-Lee is looking for new work now, but the community work she prefers is hard to come by, especially at the salary her degree and experience should command. We'll get through this, but it is stressful nonetheless. It certainly doesn't engender good will to the capitalist system.
I want to show off my new carbon steel pan that I used for the first time last night, making pizza. It's from Darto, an Argentinian company, and made from a single piece of 3 mm steel sheet. It is indestructible, no welds, and surprisingly inexpensive: a bit less than $100 with shipping.
The copper colour is from the 5 layers of seasoning I did, heating the pan in the oven to just below the smoke point of the super thin layer of sunflower oil (415Β°F) for 45 minutes. It will blacken with use. My pizza slid right off, even the caramelized cheese.
I did have a lighter MadeIn pan for a while but their handle design was just too awkward and I ended up donating it. This one is a bit lighter and bigger than my cast iron pan. #ADIML #CarbonSteel #Cooking
I knew that baking requires precision, and still I decided to wing it when I ran out of flour for tonight's pizza and substituted whole wheat flour for ΒΎ of it. I could have calculated the amount of water needed, but I figured I could go by feel. Wrong. First try was not enough, so I added more, but I kneaded it too much and any additional water wouldn't incorporate evenly.
The dough is in the pans for the final rise, but I'm uncertain how they'll turn out. I may have to really crisp the bottoms. We'll see.
I woke to the sound of Laura-Lee making coffee this morning. I looked at the clock, but what I saw made me bolt upright and run to the kitchen.
"Hey, it's LOL o'clock!"
"LOL o'clock?"
"Yes, LOL o'clock. 7:07 upside down!"
She laughed out loud
I wanted to say either "see ya, babe" or "see you in a bit". What I said was "see ya, bit!". I should get my name added to the condo deed before she has second thoughts.
Just realized we got married on the date when day and night have equal power. How fortuitous! π π
(Guess which emoji is me)
#ADIML
Dan Neuman π¨π¦
Dan Neuman